Public investment, private profit?

The port is partially subsided by a tax on King County homeowners which amounts to about $92 a year for the owner of a $400,000 home. But most ports are profitable without a tax levy.

The port points to all the businesses it has attracted over the years but critics complain that if port officials negotiated better deals they wouldn’t require a public subsidy. The port is a huge operation -
more than 1,600 workers – and has not been well covered by the local media.